Three children sit cross-legged on the floor of the ramshackle little house in Iluman, oblivious to anything but the dusty television blaring away in a dark corner.

Everyone loves bargains. But despite the economic downturn, you might think the romance of living in a restored mill in the South of France costs quite a bit more than $230,000. As for a chateau for less than $450,000…surely that’s pure fantasy?

As a writer, I get three common complaints. One is the allegation that the properties I mention don’t really exist. This I can easily resolve by replying with the owner’s phone number, photos, or a copy of the listing.

I didn’t go to Bangkok for the bars, the massages, or the temples—I went to get my teeth fixed.

Five years ago, my wife and I decided to leave our old life in the States behind us and went in search of a new country to call home.